Revamped New York Giants linebacker corps preps for Redskins

As a few reporters gathered around Gerris Wilkinson's locker Tuesday afternoon, Antonio Pierce lightheartedly prodded him to get to the meeting room.

"The linebackers are trying to get to studying," Pierce said. "Y'all are holding him up."

With two new starting outside linebackers -- free-agent pickup Danny Clark on the strong side and Wilkinson, a third-year pro, on the weak side -- Pierce likely didn't want to squander a minute of preparation for the Giants' season opener against the Redskins Thursday night.

It has been a little more than a week since the defense was shuffled following Osi Umenyiora's season-ending knee injury, with Mathias Kiwanuka moving from strong-side linebacker back to defensive end. Washington and its new-look West Coast offense will be the first test for the revamped linebacking corps.

"We'll have a good idea after (Thursday) night where we are," Wilkinson said. "We're trying to settle into our spots right now, so it's kind of going to be an ongoing situation. We're not settled in right now ... (but) hopefully it will happen (Thursday) night."

This is the opportunity Wilkinson has been waiting for, after spending two seasons as a backup and fill-in starter. When Kawika Mitchell, last year's weak-side starter, left for the Bills via free agency, Wilkinson had a chance to compete for his job but fell behind Clark while sidelined with a knee injury at the beginning of training camp.

Now, he and Clark will both start on opening night -- an unexpected, but welcomed, twist.

Clark, a nine-year veteran, has been a starter in Jacksonville, Oakland and, last season, in Houston. He likes to "play downhill" and attack the ball, more befitting of the Giants' weak-side role, but is comfortable with the strong-side job.

During the offseason, all of the linebackers -- except Pierce, the anchor in the middle -- learned each of the other spots so they could easily be shifted. Plus, the Giants can use an "over" defensive alignment, where the linebackers are stacked behind the line, giving Clark the chance to make stops in the backfield like he did so well during the preseason.

"I'm extremely comfortable playing at (strong-side linebacker). It was a seamless transition," Clark said. "(Weak-side linebacker) is a little bit more flashy, you get to make more plays. ... But I'm willing to bite the bullet and go out and compete and play to the best of my ability at strong side."

Working with a new set of outside linebackers is nothing new for the Giants. Before last season, Kiwanuka switched to strong-side linebacker from defensive end and Mitchell came to the team from Kansas City. And when Kiwanuka went on injured reserve in November, he was replaced by Reggie Torbor, now with Miami.

"Our linebacker situation is no different from what it was last year," Pierce said. "I expect these guys to be out there and be heads-up with everything, as far as communicating, knowing what to expect from Washington, getting our film study in and going out there prepared."

For this group, the preparation time has been especially condensed, even more so with Clark sitting out last week's practices and final preseason game with a groin injury. But on a defense with five different starters than it had for Super Bowl XLII, the coaches are hopeful Clark and Wilkinson will step right in.

"They've earned the right to be there," coach Tom Coughlin said. "They know the roles they have to play to do the job the way we want it to be done, and I think they're ready to do that."